Toronto Hydro-Lert: Hot enough for you?

TORONTO, July 17, 2012 /CNW/ - Breaking a temperature record today at 36.2 Celsius, the city of Toronto is sweltering and peak electricity demand in the city is up. As of 4:30pm today, demand was 4761 megawatts (MW) and still climbing. The record for peak electricity use in Toronto was set in July 2006 at 5018 MW. Aging equipment -- combined with persistent hot weather -- can cause overloading and equipment failure due to increased demand. Also, as a result of sustained high temperatures, thunderstorms are common.

Toronto Hydro reminds customers to always use precaution and think of safety first. Thunderstorms combined with high winds can cause localized power outages and bring down tree limbs onto wires. Toronto Hydro's Control Centre staff is monitoring the weather and crews are ready to respond if power is interrupted.

Pedestrians are urged to stay clear of downed wires. Some of these wires may be "live" or electrified, which can cause serious injury.

Customers should not assume that Toronto Hydro is aware of an outage and should call Customer Care to report it at (416) 542-8000.

FACTS

Always stay back at least 20 ft. from all power lines -- both exposed underground power lines and overhead wires.

If overgrown trees are in close proximity to a power line, Forestry crews at Toronto Hydro are trained to prune around power lines on private property; there is no cost for this service if the tree is too close to our high voltage equipment. Call Toronto Hydro's Forestry department at (416) 542-7800.

With TOU electricity rates in effect for the majority of Torontonians, customers should try to conserve and shift non-essential electricity use to off-peak times. Customers can log on to the TOU website to see their usage on an hourly, daily and weekly basis. The data is updated as recent as the day before.

Summer cooling can account for up to 50 per cent of the total bill. Running a central air conditioner for 24 hours at 21 degrees Celsius would cost $8.16 (electricity cost only) versus $6.12 for running it only during off-peak hours1.

Here are some tips on how to conserve electricity and save money while you're running your air conditioner:

Set the temperature at least one degree higher than you normally would. Turn it off when you're not at home OR use a programmable thermostat to turn the AC off (or up) during peak times.

Use a ceiling fan to supplement your AC, you can raise the temperature on your thermostat and feel just as comfortable.

Keep doors and windows closed while the air conditioner is running. Keep window shades drawn during the afternoon to minimize the passive solar heating effect of the sun.

Take advantage of the sun and heat and hang clothes to dry.

Sign up for peaksaverPLUS™ and get an in-home Energy Display free of charge. This in-home display allows customers to see their real-time electricity use and the cost per hour. For more tips and information on Toronto Hydro's conservation programs like peaksaverPLUS™ and PowerShift®, visit www.torontohydro.com